The Last VJ's Five Best Videos of the Week

Welcome back to The Last VJ, music fans. This week we've got dueling afterlives in case you're in the market for one. Also, I check in on a contestant from Dance Moms embarking on a music video career, and an unbelievably great London rap based on a series of novels, of all things.

It's a weird week, but a great one.

Wye Oak, "Glory" Normally I'm sort of "meh" on videos that are little more than a collection of weird camera tricks going for that "edgy" vibe. However, if I may put my overthinking cap on for a second, I could really get into directors Michael Patrick O'Leary and Ashley North Compton's vision of "Glory."

I think it's about Heaven, but the impossibly bland, WASPy Heaven that certain evangelicals dream of. To me it feels like looking at the souls of people that got the exact paradise they wanted, and are now trapped in a timeless haze of petty pleasures that their small minds are incapable of embiggening. Taken through that lens, it's a brilliant vid.

Trophy Scars, "Archangel" When the scary masks came out I started having flashbacks from last week's soul-burning Tobacco video, but once I calmed down I really started to dig "Archangel." It's a really interesting concept that director Frank Fenimore pulls off very well -- as far as I can understand it, we're looking at a relationship through the eyes of a very broken Jerry Jones.

Through typewritten notes, he gives a hellish interpretation of the girl who broke his heart, finally screaming out condemnation with mindless rage as she undergoes a baptism. It's a little draggy in places, but as a dark character study of the hate that love can breed, it's fantastic.

Thievery Corporation, "Depth of My Soul" Though it's not a terribly deep video, "Depth of my Soul" is at least beautiful. We get to watch singer Shana Halligan ride a horse through a Game of Thrones location, looking at dead frozen guys until she meets a creepy figure in black. The music is pretty enough, but a little more action would have added some gravitas to the spectacle. Be sure to check out Thievery Corporation tonight at House of Blues.

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Mack Z, "Girl Party" You know, this isn't a bad little pop song at all, and I really did enjoy the choreography. It's just, well, I'm a man in my 30s, and I know looking at this sort of thing is my job, but now I feel like I should be on a government list or something. Still, it would be nice to see something positive come out of Dance Moms.

Doc Brown, "Rivers of London" Finally, something completely new and different. I rarely bother with rap videos. Not because I don't like rap music, but because I don't like rap videos. They're rarely literary, but Doc Brown and director Matt Bloom have proven that doesn't have to be the case.

"Rivers of London" is based on the book series of the same name by Ben Aaronovitch, who executive-produced the video and was responsible for one of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who ever, "Remembrance of the Daleks." That sort of cinematic excellence, combined with Brown's extremely solid flow, make some real magic. Easily the best music video of the week.